Dahab · Egypt · Wall · Drift
The Bells
A chimney through the reef onto a wall with no bottom in range
Area photo: Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Bells is the entry for the classic route into the Blue Hole, about 35 minutes north of Dahab by road. Divers drop through a narrow chimney in the reef and come out on a wall that falls away well past any recreational limit, then follow it south past overhangs at around 30 metres and finish by crossing into the Blue Hole from the outside.
Where it is and how deep
28.5732° N, 34.5389° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site is a narrow groove cut through the reef, and the entry is the demanding part: you get down through it to reach the drop-off wall, which falls away well below anything a recreational diver should be near. There is an arch at modest depth and a natural chimney you can swim up or down, so the first minutes of the dive are vertical rather than horizontal.
Once on the wall the dive turns south. At around 30 metres there are overhangs hung with small purple net corals and white soft corals, and the face gives long views up and down it; occasional bigger fish pass by out in the blue. Most of the dive is spent working along this wall at a depth you choose, since the bottom is far below any recreational limit.
The route ends where the reef opens up: you finish by entering the Blue Hole from the outside wall, crossing in and surfacing inside the sinkhole rather than swimming back to the Bells. That makes it a one-way dive, so the exit has to be settled before anyone gets in the water, and the profile is planned around the crossing rather than around a return swim.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Dahab: Conditions stay calm and shore-diveable year-round; visibility peaks in spring and autumn shoulder months.
Know before you go
- The wall drops away directly off the entry with no bottom inside recreational range — fix a depth limit before you go through the chimney and watch the gauge on the way down.
Questions divers ask
How deep is The Bells in Dahab?+
The dived part of the site tops out around 30 metres, where the overhangs with purple net corals and white soft corals are. The wall itself carries on far below recreational limits, so on this dive depth is a decision rather than a feature of the site.
Do you dive The Bells and the Blue Hole together?+
Yes — the Bells is the starting point for the dive towards the Blue Hole. You drop through the chimney, drift south along the outside wall and enter the Blue Hole from the outside, finishing inside the sinkhole rather than back at the entry.
Sources
- The Bells - Dahab dive site — Scubago
- Dahab — Wikivoyage
In The Logbook
- How deep can you actually dive?Body & health · 13 min read
More dive sites in Dahab
A 26-metre tunnel at 55 metres links the sinkhole to open water
Coral garden
Shared entrance with the Canyon, then a slow run south
Garden eels standing in the sand a few fin-kicks from the entry
Sand slope
A single large block at 14 metres, loaded with small life
Drift
A canyon from 20 to 50 metres and a forest of giant gorgonians
Reef
A town house reef: seagrass, then coral blocks to 22 metres
Wall
No road in — a 50-minute boat ride to a fan-coral drop-off
Reef
A coral block packed with glassfish and bannerfish
Similar dives elsewhere
Starts at a 27 m pinnacle by the drop-off, then drifts shallow
Scalloped hammerheads off the back of the reef in late summer
Drift along a pinnacle-studded wall from the hotel jetty
Cousteau's diving-saucer hangar still on the sand at 13 m